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PRESENTED WEEK OF MARCH 1 2021 CHART OF THE WEEK Are you team Apple or team Spotify?

It looks like Spotify’s multimillion-dollar bet on podcasting is going to pay off. According to recent projections, Spotify’sU.S. podcast listenership has surpassed Apple Podcasts’ listenership. This year, 28.2 million people will listen to podcasts on Spotify at least monthly, while 28.0 million will NEWS + listen via Apple Podcasts. Spotify has experienced signiﬁcant DIGITAL growth in the recent years due to an aggressive growth plan, and is projected to grow 41.3% this year. TRENDS

“By putting podcasts and music in one place, Spotify quickly became the convenient one-stop-shop for everything digital audio,” noted eMarketer forecasting analyst Peter Vahle. “Apple was the de facto destination for podcasts for a long time, but in recent years, it has not kept up with Spotify’s pace of investment and innovation in podcast content and technology. Spotify’s investments have empowered podcast creators and advertisers through its proprietary hosting, creation, and monetization tools,” he said.

Source | eMarketer 2 NEWS + TWEET DIGITAL TRENDS OF THE WEEK

3 CREATOR OF THE WEEK

College student calls larger creative productions into question

Last month, a TikTok video of a Sprite commercial ﬁlmed by college student, Ashley Xu, started a conversation among creative industry leaders: what can agencies learn from Gen Z NEWS + as the creative process becomes democratized? DIGITAL In the video, Ashley uses her dorm room desk and white bed TRENDS sheets as a backdrop, a ring light for lighting and a paintbrush to manipulate props. The commercial, which appears to be professional, has been viewed over 18 million times and garnered 4.7 million likes on TikTok. This is not the ﬁrst time Xu (@ashhasacamera) has put together a seemingly high-budget commercial production from home. A quick view of her TikTok feed showcases that she regularly puts together such videos using household products. The icing on top? She is just one of many creators excelling in this kind of production.

Source // Campaign Live

4 CREATOR OF THE WEEK

College student calls larger creative productions into question

Lola Red take: It’s incredible that young creators are willing to challenge the “status-quo” of big productions set by previous generations. Agencies should take note of how Gen Z is utilizing these platforms - like TikTok. You don’t need a NEWS + multimillion-dollar budget to produce excellent creative. DIGITAL TRENDS As Guillaume Martin, Head of Strategy at BETC Paris put it: “Gen Z is able to juggle a culture of experimentation and DIY aesthetic and an embedded obsession of ﬂawless, patient craft — which agencies can learn from.”

Source // Campaign Live

5 GOODBYE HOLLYWOOD?

The 78th Golden Globes were held last Sunday.... and the ratings were described as a “disaster of epic proportions” that not even Amy Poehler and Tina Fey could save. The audience size of just 6.9 million was barely one-third the size of 2020’s viewership (18.3 million) and by far the least-watched ceremony in modern Globes history. While there are many excuses for the lower ratings - from a reduced number of celebrities in attendance, to Hollywood Foreign Press being wildly out of touch, to no big NEWS + blockbusters - this still signiﬁes a larger trend of attention shifting away from Hollywood. DIGITAL TRENDS As the new media landscape has drastically evolved with the emergence of platforms such as TikTok and Twitch and the introduction of creator celebrity culture (Hello, Addison Rae + Charli D’Amelio), it is becoming more obvious that what Hollywood cares about and what the American public cares about are largely different.

So how does this apply to marketing? With the average consumer spending 2 hours and 24 minutes on social media in 2020, the new media landscape is continuing to eat more into Americans’ free time. They have to decide whether to watch an outdated awards show or listen in on the latest Clubhouse room to dig into current trends in real-time. Our take? No longer is it innovative for a marketer to buy a 30-second commercial during an awards show - they need to evolve to activate where their audiences attention is at during that moment of time, or risk becoming irrelevant (like 6 the Golden Globes). Source // Vulture NEW PHOTO APP DISPO CAPTURES NOSTALGIA

THE SNAPSHOT:

A new photo sharing app has entered the social media world - meet Dispo, a newly hyped photo app by YouTube/TikTok star David NEWS + Dobrik. The app launched in late February with a beta test limit of DIGITAL 10,000 users, which was quickly hit when interest piqued and investors caught wind. Within the ﬁrst week of its launch, Dispo TRENDS became the fourth most downloaded app on the Apple App Store and was valued at an estimated $200 million.

HOW IS IT DIFFERENT THAN INSTAGRAM?

Great question. The young app is tugging on the nostalgia many Millennials and Gen X’ers feel for the era of imperfect photos and disposable cameras - something we’re starting to see Gen Z explore. Hence its name, “Dispo”, is short for “Digital Disposable Camera”. The app “allows users to point, shoot and live. Because photos are ‘developed’ the next morning, the app permits users to get back to living in the moment,” says Zine writer Klein. Some are even referring to the Dispo app as the “anti-Instagram” social network. 7

Source // Source NEW PHOTO APP DISPO CAPTURES NOSTALGIA

Dispo is the ﬁrst app we’ve seen that is deliberately nostalgic. Its users applaud its simplicity and ability to capture the raw, real and imperfect moments. Perhaps we’ll see this new app set the stage for the future of social media and pressure its industry NEWS + predecessors to rethink what authenticity means to them. DIGITAL HOW DO I GET IN? TRENDS

Similar to our new favorite app, Clubhouse, you have to know someone. As soon as Dispo hit its 10,000 user beta test limit, each user with an “in” was gifted 20 private invites to share with their friends.

Need an invite? We may have a few left...

8 Source // Source SNAPCHAT BANS SPONSORED CONTENT

Back in November, Snap launched a program to pay creators millions of dollars for producing content on the Snapchat Spotlight feature. We were all excited for content creators to monetize their hard work and be compensated for the traffic and engagement they brought to the Snapchat platform. NEWS + However, many creators didn’t think the gold rush would last DIGITAL - and they were (somewhat) right.

TRENDS Snap recently updated the app’s guidelines to note that sponsored posts are "not supported" by Spotlight. "We're currently focused on highlighting Snapchatters' creativity in Spotlight, so we remove Snaps that attempts to sell products or services in Spotlight," said a Snapchat spokesperson. These new guidelines prohibit creators from using affiliate links, direct product placement or brand tags. In turn, the platform is now essentially relying on its own payments to lure and maintain creators.

9 Source // Insider SNAPCHAT BANS SPONSORED CONTENT

This change has a direct impact on content creators who rely on branded content to monetize their creative efforts. As Snapchat’s Spotlight creator user count rises, it also brings increased competition and, inevitably, fewer dollars to go around. The platform hopes this encourages creators is to NEWS + focus on the potential Spotlight has for short-form video DIGITAL content, with brands and sponsorships as an afterthought right now. TRENDS

“For that to change, Spotlight will need to prove itself as a powerful platform and marketplace. As Snapchat competes to woo creators as a platform to grow and reach new audiences, industry insiders say the key to success lies in creating a long-term ecosystem that allows those creators to earn money,” says Insider journalist Sydney Bradley.

10 Source // Insider NONPROFIT MEDIA IS ON THE RISE

Nonprofit media is not a new concept, but an increasing amount of privately owned and for-profit media outlets are making the switch. The Institute for Nonprofit News now has 309 nonprofit journalism groups as members as of February, including some Twin Cities outlets like the Sahan Journal.

Elizabeth Green, the CEO and co-founder of the non-profit local news NEWS + company Chalkbeat, summed up the need for nonprofit media institutions very nicely: "We have to subsidize reporting if we want DIGITAL democracy to survive. Markets will not pay for all we need." TRENDS And it’s true - local media outlets are struggling to pull in revenue from advertising. Media companies making the switch to nonprofit status are opening the door to individual contributions to supplement for lost advertising revenue, including big names like The Salt Lake Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Baltimore Sun.

As advertisers continue to pull money from media buying, this topic will be one to keep an eye on. As revenue models continue to shift, we are closely monitoring what this may mean for the PR industry moving forward.

11 Source // Axios CLUBHOUSE: THE MEDIA TEA

Is Clubhouse a friendly platform for journalists to use to report information, or are rising tensions between media and business leaders on Clubhouse starting to tarnish the relationship between the two groups? Following the latest spat between alleged right-leaning VCs on the platform and journalist Taylor Lorenz, it’s worth asking the question. Platforms like Clubhouse have created another direct link for business leaders to reach their audiences without the need for media reporting; however, Clubhouse is also another NEWS + source of information for media, and it can be challenging to accurately report information from what is said on a 24/7 live podcast. DIGITAL

TRENDS The international Journalists’ Network recently ran a piece on using Clubhouse to report information. To be a great asset for the media, PR professionals need to understand how the media is consuming and reporting information - so, here are the organization’s tips for using the platform as a reporting tool: ● Dig deeper into a topic and identify sources ● Learn about the public’s perception of a topic and build up case studies ● Create exclusive follow-up events for popular stories ● Invite key people to chat freely about a topic with the knowledge that a reporter is making notes for reporting purposes

12 Source // IJNET CLUBHOUSE: THE MEDIA TEA

Media are also concerned about the spread of disinformation on Clubhouse, a familiar topic over the last 5 years. The bottom line - be aware of how journalists use the platform, and use that information to inform your pitching. Noticed a tech journalist listening in on a conversation about big data and think your client can serve as a spokesperson on the topic? Reach out to the journalist and oﬀer your client as a panelist for a follow up conversation on the platform. By understanding media’s needs, we can share better stories and NEWS + build deeper relationships. DIGITAL

TRENDS

13 Source // IJNET

Twitter Announces “Super Follow” Feature

witter has announced plans for a new "super follow" feature which will enable account holders to charge for exclusive additional content. Sounds like Twitter is testing the waters to compete with subscription-based, exclusive content-focused platform, Patreon. Who would you pay to “super follow”? LR sees a great opportunity here for media journalists and industry thought leaders… More here.

TikTok Highlights Female Creators for Women’s History Month

NEWS + TikTok announced a range of events to celebrate both female creators and women-lead businesses in honor of Women’s History Month. Throughout the DIGITAL month, the video platform will focus on differently weekly themes and TRENDS activations to celebrate the “diverse and growing community of women on TikTok. These events include a live telethon on Intl. Women’s Day, a “Pass the Mic” push and live conversations with female business owners. More here.

Instagram “Unintentionally” Removed Likes for a Night

Instagram sent many users into a tizzy on Tuesday night when it “unintentionally added more people” to the test group for removing Likes counts on in-feed content. Though many accounts have been part of this test group for years, many users are anxious about the repercussions this could have on brands and creators. Don’t fret, business accounts and branded partners will still have back-end access to post insights + engagements.

14 WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW: SOCIAL MEDIA SPOTLIGHT: KELLY TKYO, USA TODAY MONEY NOW REPORTER

Kelly Tyko is a business writer extraordinaire at USA Today.

She is based in Florida and writes about bargains, freebies and other business and tech topics. Truly a jack-of-all-trades, Kelly always lets us know where to ﬁnd the best deals on the most important holidays, like National Margarita Day, and what’s going on at the moment in the chicken sandwich war.

Follow along with her on Twitter (@kellytyko) and ﬁnd her articles on her USA Today proﬁle. NEWS +

DIGITAL NEWS SPOTLIGHT: THE RECOUNT TRENDS The Recount is a video-ﬁrst political media brand with the tagline; “a new approach to video about politics that won’t waste your time or insult your intelligence.” Catchy headline aside, the news outlet has made a name for itself, speciﬁcally on Twitter. According to Muck Rack, therecount.com has an approximate UVM of 81,000, however they have quickly skyrocketed to over 300,000 Twitter followers. The brand’s swift success likely demonstrates that doom scrolling lends THIS WEEK IN MEDIA itself to quick videos rather than lengthy articles.

Follow them on Twitter (@therecount) and subscribe to their 15 newsletter at therecount.com. CNBC: Google says it won’t use new ways of tracking you as it phases out browser cookies for ads by Megan Graham

With Google and Apple now on the same page on this issue, Facebook is now in the ﬁght alone to continue the ﬁght to use cookies for ads.

AXIOS: TheSkimm launches virtual ﬁnancial literacy program "SkimmU" by Sara Fischer NEWS +

DIGITAL TheSkimm, a digital media company catering to millennial women, plans to launch SkimmU, a TRENDS set of free virtual courses designed to help women take control of their ﬁnances.

THE ATLANTIC: Noisy, Ugly, and Addictive by Spencer Kornhaber

Hyperpop could become the countercultural WHAT WE’RE READING sound of the 2020s.

16 NEW YORK TIMES: How Do Inﬂuencers Get Jobs? It’s Changing by Taylor Lorenz

A new service is designed to help formalize relationships that are typically forged through personal connections or cold DMs.

BRING ME THE NEWS: MnDOT reveals 8 NEWS + winners of its snowplow naming contest by DIGITAL Adam Uren

TRENDS Yes, Plowy McPlowface is on there.

MARKETING DIVE: Jameson pays drinkers to take time off on St. Patrick's Day by Chris Kelly

Jameson Irish Whiskey will pay 1,000 people $50 to take March 17 off of work in celebration of St. Patrick's Day. The campaign comes as St. Patrick's

WHAT WE’RE READING Day lands close to the one-year anniversary of the coronavirus pandemic's onset in the U.S., and ties into research that more than half of people in the country have not used their vacation time during the 17 pandemic. THANK YOU NEWS + DIGITAL TRENDS Twitter.com/lolaredpr

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